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Extract from Thomas Gilzean's cash book in 1792 showing accounts of the Inverness Royal AcademyNow housed in a large modern building on the outskirts of the city, Inverness Royal Academy began its days in the centre of town. A building was constructed on New Street in 1792 and was in use as a school until 1895 when it was relocated to Midmills Road. New Street later changed its name to Academy Street.Advert for 'Old Times' excursions operated by Macrae and Dick'sAs they expanded, Macrae and Dick moved into the old Inverness Royal Academy building on Academy Street with its extensive playground to the rear in 1895 when the Academy moved to new premises in Midmills.Advert for Burnett’s showing the dining room of ‘The most up-to-date restaurant in the Highlands’East Church today (photo J Houston)The East Church, known originally as the Chapel of Ease, was built in 1798 to seat 1,100 people. This building was located on the site where the current church hall stands.The Church after remodel in 1898The Rose St Foundry prospered during World War One making boom defences for the Royal Navy.The development of specialist machinery such as rail welders, wheel rim welders for the automotive industry and ring welders for gas turbine and jet engines saw the Company prosper and in 1965 the name A. I. Welders Ltd was adopted.By the 1890s the foundry had taken over a lot of Rose Street and needed a new building. A Ross designed it; he wanted to make a statement that they were a successful company and wanted the name plastered along the front of the building like the Glasgow companies.Central Academy Street mosaic depicting fittersMosaic at Rose St FoundryRose Street mosaic showing founders and mouldersRight hand site mosaic at Academy Street showing blacksmiths at workDorando’s was well-known for its counter-top covered with newspapers, its ice-cream freezer, the jars of sweets lining the shelves and its open fire in the tea room.Over the years, the big names in Scottish Variety played at The Empire, including the likes of Harry Lauder.The Empire Theatre, which originally opened in 1912 as the Central Hall Picture House, began to stage live shows in 1931 following a fire which destroyed the Theatre Royal on Bank Street by the river.The Victorian Market today (photo: J Houston)Prior to the Victorian Market being built, open-air markets were held at the Exchange outside the Town House. However, the invention and spread of gas-lighting meant that an indoor market, open longer hours, could improve the shopping experience for InvernessiansThe market was rebuilt between 1890 and 1891. The Inverness firm Messrs Smith designed and built the iron and steel framework of the big central hall and added the Union Street and Church Street entrances.Falcon Square takes its name from the Falcon Iron Works opened there in 1858 by brothers, John and Charles Falconer, to take advantage of the new opportunities for trade generated by the railway.The name Falcon Square first came into use in the late 1800s to describe an area which was not a square, but a little street which led off from the iron works site.Manager of The Playhouse, Jimmy Nairn, decorating the walls for ChristmasThe Playhouse was the luxury cinema in Inverness. It opened in 1929 and was one of the first cinemas to be built for sound.Advert for the Station Hotel in 1893The Royal Highland Hotel, also known as the Station Hotel as it is nowThe Royal Highland Hotel, formerly known as the Station Hotel, was designed by noted architect and engineer, Joseph Mitchell, for the opening of the railway in 1855 and substantially redesigned in 1858-59 by Matthews and Lawrie.The Lochgorm Locomotive Works were based at Inverness and built in 1864. The workshops consisted of several different buildings and included machine shops, an erecting shop and a roundhouse, which had a massive turntable to allow engines to be quickly mobilised.Work underway at the locomotive worksThe Lochgorm Locomotive Works produced many steam engines with local names such as ‘Clachnacuddin’ and ‘Strathpeffer’.A memorial was erected in the square in 1893 to commemorate the raising of the 79th Cameron Highlanders. It commemorates the Cameron Highlanders who had died on service abroad since Inverness became the home of the Regiment under the Army Reforms of 1881.The Inverness Ragged School’s parade in Station Square sometime prior to 1875. The Ragged Schools were charitable institutions dedicated to the free education of destitute children and, according to one school report from 1852, intended for the very dregs of the community.Passengers at Inverness train stationInverness Station